So I had a go at a blue,Added Probat 222 and the tiniest powdery amount of PR to the 2L of milk.Let it acidify for two hours at around 20-2 degres to produce the max amount of diacetyl and then added rennet. diluted 1 drop in some water and added half the water but I think Ive added too much because two hours later It has already set. Didnt feel like pulling my meter and check for PH but its no bacterial set. :\Gone leave it for another 10-12 hours to finish acidifying and then drain.

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Amatuar winemaker,baker, cook and musician not in any particular order.

I've not timed how long after adding rennet the curd forms up. I let this sit about 7 hours before adding the rennet. As it was in the hot water cupboard, the temperature was around 28.5 C (I took a temp reading of the whey when I removed it the next day, so it was probably around that by the 7 hour mark). I left it the 7 hours the first time because I was originally going to try full lactic, but realised that semi-lactic was probably the better way to ease into this kind of cheese. That went so well I did the same thing this time.

Also, just added blue mould scrappings from a bought cheese. I've heard this can produce less reliable results (or more variable), so I suspect you'll get a better mould bloom and coverage quicker. Look forward to seeing your reports and final result.

These little cheeses are fun.

- Jeff

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The wise do not always start out on the right path, but they do know when to change course.

Well I think I got way too much whey-curd seperation but it wasnt a clean brake kind of thing. more like a mass of curd sitting in a deep layer of whey which broke when I dried it. Maybe I should have waited longer but I think the overuse of rennet was the problem.

What I got now after about 12 hours of draining is some really nice smooth cream cheese inside a tiny mold.Im gone leave it for another day or two to harden (I hope) before I try to flip it and salt it.

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Amatuar winemaker,baker, cook and musician not in any particular order.

That sounds right actually. The curd will be this big blob sitting in a pool of whey (I've got some photos in the other thread of mine showing what it looked like). It won't be like a rennet set curd, but very soft and cream cheesey and lots of clear fluid (as if you've cut it and let is sit for quite sometime already). I just ladeled it into the molds using a large plastic cooking spoon to cut layers of the curd and place it into the molds. It drains a lot of whey over a couple days. It sit the mold on chopsticks over a bowl to catch the whey and I was emptying the bowl each day. A lot of fluid in these wee things. I could flip mine after about 3 hours in the mold (very carefully), but use your judgement.

ANut,

Hope your new fridge fills up soon!

- Jeff

« Last Edit: November 18, 2011, 09:31:57 PM by JeffHamm »

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The wise do not always start out on the right path, but they do know when to change course.

Yep jeff, thats accurate. The liquid is clear so I've kept most of the casain. The milk is not that high quality, im getting some raw goat's milk next week and wanted to trial this technique first so I know what expect.

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Amatuar winemaker,baker, cook and musician not in any particular order.

I think experimenting with these is a good idea, especially if you're used to rennet set curds. These are my first attempts at it, and from reading the forum I knew to expect it to be quite different from what I was used to. I also knew to look for the curd pulling away from the sides of the pot and floating in the whey, otherwise I would have wondered what I did. Still, the curds are so much wetter than rennet set curds that it just seems wrong that they are still draining after a couple days.

Have fun. I'm sure they will turn out.

- Jeff

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The wise do not always start out on the right path, but they do know when to change course.

Some of the piercings didn't go all the way through to the other side, so I repierced yesterday. This was also to get a feel for the curd. It's very firm, exceptionally moist, and developing nicely. Of course, repiercing means some cheese stuck to the probe. Some blue was on there, though not much as it's still slowly developing. Anyway, these volunteer samples were tasted and this is turning out to be a fantastic success. The taste was very very good, though also very mild at the moment because there wasn't much blue yet. Still, the blue flavour goes extremely well with the texture and underlying flavour of the curds. Nice.

- Jeff

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The wise do not always start out on the right path, but they do know when to change course.